Death or Freedom - Joƶalla ya marşo

Welcome to the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

The Chechen Republic Ichkeria, also known as Chechnya or the Chechen Republic, is located in the Southeastern part of North Caucasus, is an independent country since 1991 after the collapse of the USSR (The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) but under Russian occupation since 1999.

Geography

The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is on the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus and in the adjoining Chechen plain and Terek-Kuma lowlands. The total land area of Chechnya is about 19,300 sq km. Chechnya is surrounded on nearly all sides by the Russian Federation. In the West, it borders North Ossetia and Ingushetia; in the North, Stavropol Krai; in the East, Dagestan; and to the South, Georgia. The capital of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is Dzhokhar Ghala also known as Grozny. Chechnya can be divided into four parts: plains, foothills, mountains and highlands. In the Northern and Northeastern parts of Chechnya there are sandy steppes. Northwestern, Western, central and Eastern parts of Chechnya are covered by plains and foothills. The Southern and Southeastern parts of Chechnya lie in the Greater Caucasus mountain range, forming a series of valleys.

Administrative Divisons

As mentioned before, the capital of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is Dzhokhar Ghala (Grozny). The city lies on the Sunzha River. Dzhokhar Ghala is divided into four administrative city districts: Leninsky, Zavodskoy, Staropromyslovsky and Oktyabrsky. The city was founded in 1818 as a fortress. The Groznaya Fortress was a Russian military outpost on the Sunzha River by Terek Cossacks which was a prominent defense centre during the Caucasian War. It was built on the site of six leveled Chechen villages. After the annexation of the region by the Russian Empire, the military use of the old fortress was obsolete and in December 1869 it was renamed Grozny. In Russian “Grozny” means “fearsome”, “menacing”, or “terrible”. Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who was the Vice-President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, renamed the city Dzhokhar Ghala in 1996. After the assassination of Dzhokhar Dudaev by the Russians in 1996, consequently, Yandarbiyev became the acting President.

The Flag, Emblem and Anthem

The flag of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI) was recognized after 1990. The color scheme of the flag is green, white and red; the upper two thirds of the flag are in green and the remaining one third in white, red, white and green stripes of equal width. Each color is meant to symbolize an aspect of the Chechen national character. The green color of the flag symbolizes Islam, red symbolizes the bloodshed in the struggle for freedom and white represents the road to a bright future. Another design of the flag is similar to this flag but has the country’s coat of arms incorporated into the design. Ratios of ChRI flag are 8:1:1:1:1.

Chechen Flags

The wolf symbolizes freedom. The wolf symbol has been used since the 18th century by Chechens and became a symbol of power. The wolf is in the circle and surrounded by national motifs. The 9 stars with 9 corners in the circle represent the Chechen tribes (tuxum).

Chechen Emblem

The national anthem of ChRI “Death or Freedom” was declared in 1992. The words of anthem are by Abuzar Aydamirov and music is by Ali Dimaev.